


More Than Business

by snarkystark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Slow Burn, basically iron man but with my own twists, i just REALLY love tony, reader is a badass, reader is a smartass too sometimes, this is really bad i’m sorry, yes hammer is in it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2018-12-10 03:51:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11683443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkystark/pseuds/snarkystark
Summary: Basically the events of Iron Man with reader, along with my own personal twists. It will loosely follow the movie.Reader is the CEO of a successful tactical communications company, who has it out for Tony Stark and his company.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fic on here, be easy on me. :) I’ve been entertaining the idea of writing this for quite some time, so here it is. I’ve checked it for grammatic and spelling mistakes as much as possible, if something slipped let me know!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Events like these were always awful. On top of it being fucking cold outside, you were in nothing but a fancy, low-cut, [color] dress and heels. But this was part of your job. Well, both your jobs, actually. You appreciated what it was for, but it didn’t make it any more endearing to wear uncomfortable shoes.

The driver dropped you off right in front of the event, where photographers blinded you with camera flashes and drowned out your hearing with obnoxious questions. “[Y/N], what’s next for your company?” You fought the urge to role your eyes, and your face took on a tight-lipped smile as you gained your composure. “Do you have plans to go forward with Stark Industries? What about Justin Hammer?” Ignoring the mobs of people shouting at you, you made your way inside the event. The gala was to celebrate the recent successes of the military operations in Afghanistan, specifically with the Air Force. 

Your mother owned a successful telecommunications company for New York as long as you could remember. That was until about five years ago, when she stepped down as CEO and appointed you. At the time you were a mess, fresh out of college and no idea what you were going to do. But you turned that shit around, because you’re a girl boss. You redirected the company to tactical communications instead of dealing with the public, and eventually got a sweet deal with the US military. You were the only communications company privatized to the military, as of now. Once you got large enough, you bought out competitors and proved yourself to be a fantastic CEO. Your work with the military got you on the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division’s radar. (Wow, they needed to shorten that.) To which you found your second ‘job.’  
Most of their communications were now operated by you. In your second meeting with their director, Nicholas Fury, he offered you a unique opportunity. The ability to collect and analyze data came with your job, and Fury asked you to do just that. Anything dubious that the military did, you reported back to him. Technically, this was treason. But SHIELD was attempting to stop a war. You were aiding that cause. So far, the military wasn’t doing anything wrong. However you had a feeling their arms dealer, Stark Industries, was.

You sighed as you entered through the large glass doors, taking in the ambiance around the room. Large banners with Air Force logos and the word gala were hung across various parts of the room, some of them from the ceiling with the chandeliers. The place was dimly lit with candles at each of the round tables, and women with expensive pearls around their necks and men in tuxedos mingled with other guests. Besides that, there were a lot of individuals in uniform. Some of them looked uncomfortable, like this gala wasn’t their cup of tea. You didn’t blame them. You had visited Afghanistan recently, and it was hell. You had such an immense respect for what those who served did, which is why this deal with Fury was so important to you. If Stark was dealing under the table, you were going to find out.

“Speaking of the devil,” you mumbled, watching as the playboy himself made his way from the entrance straight to the bar, a woman by his side. Your face screwed up a bit and your turned you back to him, walking the other way. Until you saw a friendly face. “I know you don’t like him, [Y/N/N], but he is my best friend and he is a good guy.” Colonel James Rhodes spoke up, giving you a warm smile. “Rhodey, hey.” You smiled back, ignoring the opener about Stark. “Haven’t seen ya in person for a while, didn’t think you’d be here tonight.” you voiced, pulling him in for a friendly hug. “And miss you being in the same room with him for more than 10 minutes? I couldn’t miss that.” He joked, and you laughed. You had never actually spoken more than a few words to Tony, but it was enough for you to know he was an ass. And considering how much you knew about his company and what it was most likely doing, you definitely were not a fan. “Yeah, well,” you shrugged, letting out a gentle sigh. “It’s for a good cause, you guys deserve this. Not that I have to tell you that, of course.” Rhodey just smiled down at you, nodding. Rhodey was a good guy. You’d known him for a little over a year now, and you knew he always did the right thing. And it was nice having someone to talk to at these kind of things. “What are you havin’ to drink? I’ll go get you something.” He spoke back up, looking between you and the bar to your right. “Um, just a vodka tonic, thanks.” You smiled, before he made his way over to the bar. You watched him shake hands with Stark. 

Looking away, you leaned against the cocktail table with your arm, scanning the room with your [E/C] eyes. “Ms. [Y/L/N], always a pleasure.” You closed your eyes and hummed in annoyance, looking over at Justin Hammer. Wasn’t being invited to the same gala as him torture enough? “Hi, Justin. Nice to see you.” Despite being an annoying sack of crap, it seemed like he was always coming on to you, which you didn’t appreciate. “A beautiful woman like you, standing here alone? I thought I’d come accompany you.” You rolled your eyes, a sigh escaping your lips. “I’m actually just waiting on a friend.” you jerked your thumb back towards Rhodey, still talking to Stark. Justin assumed you meant the latter. “Oh, sweetheart.” He laughed and you seriously fought back the urge to roll your eyes for the second time tonight. “He’s not staying your friend for long, trust me.” You shot him a glare. “I don’t trust you anyway, and I was talking about Rhodes.” Justin didn’t seem fazed by your response. “You don’t trust a lot of people, do you? Might come back to get you one day.” He took a sip of his drink, eyeballing you as he did. “Doubt it.” You ended the conversation before making your way towards the bar and away from him. You were more prepared to talk to Stark right now than Hammer. Not that you enjoyed either of them.

Your [color] dress swayed as you made your way over to Tony and Rhodes, another exasperated sigh coming from you. “I need that drink now,” you quipped, and Rhodey happily handed it to you. “I was just about to come rescue you, I saw Hammer come over.” “My hero,” you said dramatically, shooting a joking look towards the man before taking a sip of your Vodka Tonic. “That man is ridiculous. He needs to learn that being a dick doesn’t make his any bigger, or more desirable for that matter.” Your eyes shot to Stark, who laughed at your comment. “Have we met before?” His expressive eyes met yours, and you smirked. “Yes, actually. You ogled at me for twenty minutes before asking me to go home with you a few months ago. At a tactics meeting.” The brunette deadpanned for a moment. “Oh. Well I had good reason, you’re gorgeous. And apparently funny.” He winked.  
Rhodey let out a hearty laugh, putting a hand on your shoulder to steady himself. “That’s why you don’t like him?” He peered down at you, clearly very humored by this. “You don’t like me? I’m hurt, I really am.” Tony quipped in, feigning hurt. Your eyes darted between the two men as you took another sip, humming a response. It was a quick first meeting.

As the night went on, you were surprised. When he wasn’t trying to get in everyone’s pants, he was quite charming. You actually got along well. Rhodes eventually excused himself, saying he had to make rounds and say hello to everyone. He made sure to wink at you before leaving you with Tony. 

So there you were, standing next to a billionaire who probably made his money double-dipping in his industry. Fantastic.

This is where is starts to go downhill.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! Not gonna lie, I really enjoy writing this.

The night seemed to drag on after Rhodey left your side. It seemed the playboy decided you were far more interesting than his date, whom he left behind somewhere. A small part of you felt sorry for her, but you figured she was mostly stupid if she hung around Stark. You were harshly interrupted from your thoughts as the billionaire spoke up. "Thinking about something?" You shrugged. "Nothin' important." You returned, trying to avoid eye contact. "Oh." was all he said, before letting out what you could only assume was a bored sigh. Good. Maybe he would leave you alone and find another woman to entertain him.

"Wanna dance?"

"Uh, what?"

Tony playfully rolled his eyes at you. "Dance. It's what people usually do at these things. Passes the time." You scoffed. "I know what dancing is. I was just surprised you asked me." The ballroom floor was lit up spectacularly, the lights reflecting off the high chandeliers and bouncing back to the floor where people danced. Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones flooded your ears, muffling the laughter and wild conversations going on around you. You allowed Tony to take your hand, and he led you to the floor. Your seemed to relax, and it made you realize how on edge you'd been the entire night. Something about the song; which was once of your favorites, by the way; and the ambiance of the room put you at ease. And dancing was never really your forte, but Tony led you through the song like he was a professional. Which he probably was, this was likely one of his tactics to pick up women. Sweeping women off their feet, literally. It didn't matter. "Why?" Your brows knitted together in confusion, and so he elaborated. "Why were you surprised I asked you to dance?" He laughed quietly, one hand on your hip and the other still holding onto yours as you swayed to the song. "Well, I don't have self-esteem issues if thats what you're getting at." You humored. "I'm plenty enough pretty to be dancing with you." He laughed at your comments, eyes crinkling as he did. "But, I just said not too long ago that I didn't particularly care for you-" "I believe Rhodey said that, actually." He cut in, an eyebrow raised at you. "The general idea was expressed that I didn't like you," you corrected yourself. "So, I guess I was a bit shocked when you decided to spend the evening with me." His lips turned up into a smirk, and you could almost guess what he was about to say. "Oh, so were spending the evening together-" "Totally not what I meant, Stark." You replied, shaking your head and chuckling. He smiled at you. A gorgeous smile, which is what pissed you off. "Still dislike me?" He questioned, and his face seemed closer to yours than before. "Trying to." Your brain was screaming at you to stop. "Sorry about that, by the way." He took a deep breath in. "Those meetings can be so boring. And I knew exactly who you were, for the record. I thought poking fun at you would've made the meeting much more interesting. But I guess it payed off, seeing my current situation." Oh, yeah. He thought you hated him for hitting on you. Not because he was selling weapons to terrorists. Nonetheless, you found yourself still participating in the banter. "Hmm, did it?" You questioned as the song ended, parting away from him. "You're dangerous." Brown eyes swept down your figure and back up to meet your own "Quick witted, gorgeous, I'm thinking probably pretty intelligent based on that little company of yours." You feigned a look of shock. "You think? And little? Last time I checked, _Mr. Stark_ , my company's stock was getting dangerously close to yours." You spoke in your most seductive voice, and it was your turn to smirk. "Oh, I love it when you talk business to me." he shot back, not missing a beat.

Fortunately, your little flirt session was abruptly interrupted by Stark Industries' other major pawn: Obadiah Stane. "You two talking business, what a lovely coincidence. Maybe a merger of some kind, I hope." And you hoped he was joking. At least Tony was attractive and awful. (Was it okay to think that?) This guy just seemed the latter. Tony visibly tensed a bit in Obadiah's presence. You weren't sure why, you assumed they were good friends, almost family. Either way, you shouldn't care. Since Stark didn't immediately reply, you took it upon yourself to. "Possibly. Who knows what the future could bring." You forced a smile and a cheery attitude. Stane obviously noticed, he eyeballed you for a moment before continuing. "I was just discussing with the company board about a high-profile merger. It would be great for business." He chuckled. "And I'm sure our friends wouldn't mind." He gestured towards the Air Force banner. You would mind. You would mind a lot. But as soon as Tony and Stane started conversing about the best interest for _Tony's_ company (as he reminded Obadiah), you zoned out. How bad would it be? You'd be more accessible to Stark Industries. Could you find the information Fury was looking for? Were you even positive Stark was double dealing? And if they were, how were you going to stop it? You'd obviously be associated with it, if it came to the public eye. There was the potential that your company could fail if it did, and you would most definitely lose your contract with the military. And if you were even going to consider it, you'd have to talk to Coulson about it.

"[Y/N]?" Tony brought your attention back to the conversation. "What'd'ya think? We could put something in the books, talk it over. I don't think Obie would let you leave without saying yes." "He's right." You mulled it over in your head some more. "Make me an offer, Stark." You smirked up at the billionaire. "I will definitely consider it. We should plan a sit-down soon." Obadiah eagerly shook his head, obviously more excited for this than Stark was. "Sometime Monday?" Way too eager, even for a wealthy businessman. Tony cut in. "After my trip to Afghanistan. As Ms. [Y/L/N] so nicely reminded me, her stock is nearing close to ours. Maybe after we sell a few hundred thousand new missiles that won't be the case." Your head was clouded for a moment. Stark's poor attempt at a joke had somehow made this conversation worse for you. Your eyes darkened. "And what do you two plan on doing once the war in the Middle-East is over?" Your voice took on a much more aggression than you intended, which earned you a not-so-subtle glare from Stane. "There's always some kind of conflict in the world, if you haven't noticed. You're just as guilty as me when it comes to aiding it." You scoffed. "I'm not the one selling missiles, I'm a fucking communications company." Stark looked beyond uncomfortable at the conversation, eyes darting between the two of you. "Good thing we don't have to talk about this all at once." He said sarcastically. If the situation wasn't already horrible, it definitely got worse. Right on cue, a reporter decided to step in on your conversation. "Christine Everheart, Vanity Fair. What a pleasure it is to see all three of you together tonight. Plotting the end of the world?" You clenched your jaw. "You bet. We were actually just talking about a possible merger, to answer all those questions coming into the event." You were heated. "Give me a call when you get back, Stark."  
  


You had no time for sassy reporters and bald assholes. It was time to call it a night. You said your goodbyes to a few friends, including Rhodey. As you left, you saw Stark getting a little friendly with the same reporter who basically called you all evil. You didn't expect anything else. A playboy is a playboy. 

You remember getting a call from Rhodey that Tuesday. The meeting wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit is about to get real. Maybe a double post tonight, I have a lot of ideas flowing for the story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a longer-ish chapter since I was slow on updating. I'm already working on chapter 4, though! IF anyone is actually reading this or cares. At this point, I'm writing for my own enjoyment lol.
> 
> But anyway, here it is.

Your phone blared at 4 am Tuesday morning, earning a groan from your sleepy state. The caller ID informed you it was Rhodey, who was in Afghanistan with Tony. He knew the time differences. It was an emergency. Not that your brain registered that at 4 in the morning. "Rhodey, what the hell? It's like barely morning and my ringtone is so annoying I gotta change it-" "[Y/n]." His tone was serious, and you sat up in bed. "Uh, are you okay?"

His breath was uneasy on the line before he spoke. "Tony's Humvee, a roadside bomb. We can't find him. If he was dead we would've found his body by now. Probably kidnapped." He said breathlessly. Your eyebrows widened and your free hand ran through your [color] hair. You couldn't think of how to reply to that. "You still there?" "Yeah. I just... Wow. Wow." Your brain flooded with questions. "I mean who would've taken him-are they going to kill him? Is there anything I can do? That's a stupid question, I know. Are you okay? How long ago did this happen?" You were cut off by his sigh. "Slow down. Actually, you can do something. That's why I'm calling you." You nodded to yourself, waiting for him to continue. "We think, at least, that Ten Rings kidnapped him. They're a terrorist organization. From what we know, they have a similar radio system to ours, which is yours of course. If there's any way you can get out here-" You didn't hesitate to reply. "Of course, I'll be on a flight out as soon as I can." And you were. You boarded a jet at 6:30 for you roughly 14-hour descent into the Middle East. You arrived the evening of (technically) the next day. You were exhausted. When the Humvee dropped you off at the base, you were glad Rhodey said you could begin in the morning. There wasn't likely to be too much talk at midnight.

You didn't sleep well that night. Afghanistan was just as hot as you remembered it to be, and the base was stuffy. It wasn't like you could go outside for fresh air. You sat up on the small cot you were given, eyes peering around the dimly lit room where everyone slept. You were doing this more for Rhodey. You couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now. Every time you tried to feel bad for Stark, you reminded yourself that he was screwing over the military. It was bad karma to deal with the bad guys, he had it coming. But part of you also thought Tony was not entirely at fault. Stane seemed like a snake in the grass. The first time you met the guy he didn’t try to hide the fact that he was an asshole, and that was when he was trying to talk you into a business merger. He was probably worse to his employees, and Stark for that matter. But, again, it didn’t matter. You weren’t getting involved. You were here to help out Rhodey and find any info you could on Stark Industries in the Middle East. Pitying Tony Stark wasn’t going to help either of those.

Everyone on base was up by 6 am, but you had been up since 3. You had worked out a rough algorithm to track their radio coms, but it wasn’t ready yet. You sat at your makeshift work station, eyes darting between small computer screens, which you had to squint to read. Your short sleeve shirt was rolled up further since the heat was getting to you, and the pants you had on were starting to feel like a second layer of skin. You huffed. Everything in the code seemed perfect. In about an hour, you’d have at least ears on Tony. It was worth the exhaustion at least. Rhodey walked in soon before, with water in hand, which you gladly took. “You were up early this morning.” He idly commented as he watched you type. You raised an eyebrow, glancing your eyes in his direction. “Which also means you were up. Can’t sleep, Rhodes?” He shook his head. “How could I?” Your eyes stayed trained on the man, softer now. “I know. We’ll find him.” You shot a faint smile towards him, which he didn’t return.

At 9:36 am you hit a match with the coms. Several of Rhodey’s fellow military officers crowded around the computer. “In about 20 minutes they’ll know somethings up. I couldn’t override the security protocols for longer than that. Their tech must be good, makes me wonder where they got it.” You rubbed your hands together, watching as the officers tried to track a location. Even if they couldn’t get an approximate location, they might be able to run voice recognition on some of the guys, or even background analyzation to find where they were. There was a good chance you’d get a hit on Tony today. You sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs and rubbed. Three hours of sleep on top of jet lag was not your best decision. Suddenly the speakers came alive, alerting you that they started the listen in. From what you could tell, about three different languages were being spoken on those coms, seemingly all at once. You rubbed at your temples.

[Oh shit. Meanwhile, back at Stark Industries.]

Obadiah State stood at his desk, hands on his hips. His eyes were trained on his own computer screen, where he had just received a very delightful message from The Ten Rings. He thought dealing with an infamous terrorist organization would mean they were up for anything. But it seemed he was getting screwed over now. Fantastic. On top of that, that stupid girl was helping Rhodey track down Tony. His large hand ran the length of his beard, thinking. Tony wasn’t dead like he had planned. And [Y/N] was still in the picture. He had tried to get everything sorted before Stark left for Afghanistan. A large merger, Tony would die, and Obadiah had a plan to take over the two newly consolidated companies. He could’ve made a pretty penny selling [Y/N]’s tech in Afghanistan. His plan was falling apart, and now it had to be dealt with. Eventually, it dawned on him, though, that maybe letting it play out by itself would resolve this problem. Surely Rhodey and [Y/N] would try to rescue Stark, possibly killing themselves in the process. The bald man smirked. “I’ll let them self-destruct, then.” The computer screen flipped off as executives for Stark Industries scuttled into his office, clearly anxious about their next move. He appeared just as torn up about the news as they had been and declared himself in charge for the time being. Now he had about 100 employees looking to him for the next press statement.

[Back to your point of view.]

Nothing. Absolute bullshit, in your opinion. You should’ve been able to track a rough location, but all you got was various muffled languages that no one could run. You had never seen Rhodes so angry. He almost flipped the table before thinking twice, storming out, and slamming the door behind him. You were disappointed. You ran everything perfectly, and still nothing. You kept telling yourself that it shouldn’t matter to you if you found Tony, that he was a bad guy, but you still were holding hope for some reason. Reluctantly, you followed Rhodey out the door he had just slammed, spotting him sitting down with his head in his hands. You decided not to say anything, silently comforting him by placing your hand on the man’s shoulder.

There wasn’t much reason for you to stay after that. Rhodey took you himself to the base’s air field. There was minimal exchange in the Humvee, much to your liking. You wouldn’t have known what to say anyway. As you boarded the small aircraft, you waved to Rhodes with a sad smile. After being seated, your iPod sang you to sleep with Journey’s “Lights”, and when you woke you found yourself back in busy Manhattan. You forced two melatonin down to help you sleep. The sun was just starting to rise as you woke up, tangled in your comforter. “Early bird catches the worm, I guess.” You grumbled, rising and padding out of your bedroom to the kitchen. Just on time, too, as your stomach groaned loudly.   
With a nutritious breakfast of Cocoa Puffs and coffee, you made your way over to the TV in the living room. Usually, you made a habit of sitting at the table where the window looked out. Your apartment had a beautiful view of Manhattan, especially now in the Spring. But you weren’t in a very springy mood. Luckily the morning news wasn’t either. The calm voice of a reporter came over the speakers, news about Stark Industries spilling out of her mouth. You inwardly vomited. With Stane virtually taking over the company, they were definitely going downhill. It wouldn’t be too soon that they announced that they were open to selling to terrorists. “What a jackass.” “I know, right.” You almost jumped out of your skin. “Jesus, KB, you scared the shit out of me.” She looked uninterested. “I did? Sorry.” Sometimes you wondered why you gave your best friend a key to your apartment. Katelyn had been a friend since high school, though, and you needed someone to take care of your houseplants when you were gone. “Anyway, more important things.” She shut off the TV. “You need to get back to work. I stopped by to see Lindi yesterday, she can’t handle you being away for more than 24 hours. She’s going insane.” You rolled your eyes. Lindi was another good friend. Katelyn and yourself had met her at NYU, where she double-majored in communications and engineering with you. She was in charge of the company whenever you weren’t around. “She’s fine.” You said with a mouthful of cereal. Katelyn glared at you. “I’ve been gone longer than this before, she’s always handled everything amazingly.” “Yeah, except someone dropped a bomb about Stark Industries and your company possibly merging, your phones are off the hook. There are literally reporters swarming outside your building.” Sighing, you set your dishes on the coffee table. “Fuck, I didn’t realize. I’ll get dressed. Are you coming?” Your friend laughed. “No. I don’t need that mess to deal with. Did you find anything on Tony Stark-“ She was cut off by your phone ringing. The caller ID on the screen read Stark Industries. “No, nothing.” You replied, hitting the decline button. “But I’m sure scary bald asshole still wants to meet with me.”

Taking Katelyn’s advice, you went in the side entrance to your building. About half a dozen reporters and their camera crews were in the front. It gave you a headache just thinking about it. Ignoring the fact that building had become a hub for all things Tony Stark related, much like your life had in the past week, you pushed the button for the top floor once you were on the elevator. It opened to your private office, where a very stressed looking Lindi was sipping on probably not her first Starbucks of the day, eyes frantically looking at the computer screen. “Can’t be that bad, Linds.” You commented, smirking over at her from across the desk. You took a seat. “Ohmygosh, I’msogladyou’reback.” She strung out, causing you to chuckle. “Okay, so it is. Sorry. It was last minute, I was trying to help out, I forgot about my little comment to Ms. Vanity Fair the other night. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.” She shook her head, her slim fingers moving to the mouse to pull something up. “It's fine. I can handle that. What I can’t handle though, is a bunch of missed calls and messages from Obadiah State. That man has been calling here nonstop today.” Your look of disdain worsened when you saw what she had pulled up. 11 missed calls. He called your cell phone earlier. Clearly, he wanted something. “I’ll get it taken care of.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are kinda getting interesting. Also, I've been reading a lot of fics lately and realizing how choppy and bad my writing is sometimes. I tried to fix it in this chapter. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

Lindi eventually left you alone in your office, staring out at the New York skyline from the desk chair. Sighing, you looked back over to the phone records pulled up on screen. The line hadn’t ringed again, but you knew it would eventually. Obadiah would probably want to hear what was going on. You couldn’t imagine that Rhodey was keeping him updated, he didn’t even call you after your flight landed. Which you understood. So scary bald man would want to meet with you sometime soon about it. You really didn’t want to tell him anything. You generally tried to avoid people who gave off the whole ‘I’m secretly a mass murderer’ vibe.

 

Putting it off wasn’t going to help, though. Another sigh escaped you. How’d you get caught up in all this again? You had nothing to do with Stark Industries a little over a week ago. You pressed redial for the missed call from earlier. It rang twice. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms. [Y/N]? Surprised you’re ringing me back.” Your eyes rolled back into your skull this time. “Well, that is exactly what I’m doing, calling you back. What do you want?” You were trying your hardest not to sound hostile, but you were sure it wasn’t really working. “Oh, nothing! Just a little chat between you and I to straighten some things out. Stark Industries. Sometime today, if you could be bothered.” Oh, you’d definitely be bothered. “Sure thing. Time?” He chuckled on the other end. “As soon as possible. I’ll send you a ride.” And the line went static. You hated men and their constant power plays. You had your own driver. But you’ll play along. You said goodbye to Lindi and a few other of your workers before heading for the elevator. Your mind was buzzing. This meeting could take a turn for the worst, or it could go really well. Although you were sure it would be the former, you were shooting to get on Obadiah’s good side. Maybe you could find something out. Luckily you weren’t too lost in your thoughts, as you remembered the reporters outside the front of your building. You pursed your lips. You’d have to run past them to get to the car. Leaning out the side door to avoid their prying eyes, you craned your neck to see the car Obadiah had sent for you. It was out there waiting. “Oh well.” You were glad you weren’t wearing heels today. You bolted from the side entrance out in front of the reporters, where bright camera flashes immediately blinded you. Ignoring questions, you pulled on the door handle to open the swanky car’s door.

 

The ride to the tower was quiet. You’d never actually been to Stark’s building, but you expected it to be this nice. Marble floors, high ceilings with all glass walls looking out to New York. It was a nice reflection of the money the company had.

 

An intern showed you to where you’d be meeting Obadiah. Apparently, he didn’t have his own office to meet in. The door you walked through definitely had a plaque that said ‘Anthony Stark, CEO’ on it. The intern also informed you that Mr. Stane was running late, so you’d have to wait for a few minutes. He passed on Obadiah’s apologies. Whatever.

 

After waiting more than 10 minutes you started to wander around Tony’s office. It didn’t look like he used it much. Where as you practically lived in yours, his looked empty. A few pictures were framed and put on the shelves that adorned the walls, and paperwork sat neatly stacked on the desk. A scotch bottle with a few small glasses sat on a table not far from the desk. Maybe it was like this since Obadiah had been using it, he’d been running the company for the past week. You sat in the leather desk chair and swiveled around to the window. It had a nice view, that's for sure. Another five minutes passed and you were getting agitated. “As soon as possible,” you scoffed. Your eyes fell on the Dell Laptop on the desk. The screensaver was a hot rod. You gently moved the mouse, waking the computer to view the login screen. “Nosey?” Inquired a voice, a tinge of sarcasm present. “Curiosity killed the cat, I guess.” You replied without looking up, sighing. 

 

Stane practically waltzed into the room, focused on you the entire time. “Ah, I don’t want to kill you. Just want to make a point.” His patronizing tone made your eye twitch. As if you didn’t hate the man enough, he was making it easier to. After you didn’t respond, he turned his head towards the scotch. “Drink?” He questioned, standing to fetch himself one. “I’m okay. Thanks.” You replied cautiously, watching him. He made his way over towards the table, stopping to pick up the container of alcohol and bring it up to his nose. “Ah, he always picks the good stuff.” Nodding nervously, you eyed him. He said he wanted to make a point, but he sure wasn’t; you were on edge now and confused, maybe he wanted that. You looked away from him but still felt his gaze on you as he poured his glass. You heard him sigh, it was a few moments before he spoke again. “I’m worried.” Your eyes shot up, eyebrows furrowed as you replied. Did he want a therapy session? “About Tony, I’m sure…“ You were caught off guard by the eerie chuckle he elicited as you spoke. His voice was low, and a sly smile took over his features as he stalked over towards the desk. You tensed, swallowing hard and pursing your lips as drew near, thinking about his next words. “Oh, Tony.” His change in demeanor made you uneasy. It was almost like this was a joke to him, he seemed to be enjoying Tony’s absence and making you ill at ease. He paced till he was directly behind you. Your breathing had quickened at this point, you were thoroughly intimidated by his quiet demeanor and domineering remarks. Suddenly his hand clapped down on your left shoulder, making you jump in your seat and take in a sharp breath. His face was searingly close to your ear. “I’m more worried about your situation, though, aren’t you?” His voice was quiet. He stood straight again with a sigh, turning his body to lean on the polished desk. He used his free hand to swerve the seat you were in to face him, his eyes washing over you, calculating. “I know who you are. I know you’re telling an outside source about military activity. I could have you brought in for questioning with your favorite Colonel,” He shrugged, frowning at you. “Or we could strike a deal, It’s your choice.” “You don’t know that.” Your voice was shaky, and all your defenses were up. There’s no way he found this out, he had to be bluffing. “Mm. Doesn’t matter how I know, I know. Make a decision.” Your eyes darted from his to your lap, mulling your options. When you finally worked up the courage, you spoke up. “Quit playing nice and dancing around what you want then, just tell me.” Your voice was about as threatening as you could get it, but Stane chuckled at you. “For you to stop trying to play games with me, [Y/N].” He spoke darkly. Your head was reeling again, with questions and sarcastic comments. You kept most of them to yourself. “I like games.” You replied defiantly, a quiet challenge. “Let me put it this way. You **_will_** stop snooping in Stark Industries, or you will lose your company. I honestly thought you’d learn your lesson by now, searching for a lost cause in the desert.” The comment caused you to seethe with anger, your eyes narrowing as you pushed yourself further back into the desk chair.“If that's not clear,” He started, arrogantly. “I’ll make sure Stark never comes home.” There was not a doubt in your mind now that you were dealing with a devil, as cliche as it sounded. “Okay. I won’t say anything.” He smiled at you, a full on one with teeth. “I’m glad we had this talk.” He nodded, motioning for you to stand. He stuck his hand out for you to shake. “Look at it my way, this is easier for the both of us. We can tell the press the merger is off.” You glanced down at his hand before pretending to pick something off the shoulder of your jacket. “As much as I’d love to see things your way, I don’t think I could stick my head that far up my ass.” You commented sarcastically, pleased with yourself. Obadiah seemed to snap after that remark. With his still extended arm, he reached for your own, twisting it back into a painful hold. “Daddy’s had enough now. We made a deal. If you break your end of the deal, bad things will happen.” He effortlessly took another sip of his drink with his free hand, looking bored. “More than just losing your company.”

 

You were pretty sure you left Stark Industries with a dislocated shoulder and a bruised ego. You would have to deal with this on your own if you couldn’t notify Fury. You just weren’t sure how yet.

 

Quiet for nearly three months, everything seemed back to normal. News channels went back to regular coverage, you went back to work. No more meetings with the warmonger and the press was off you back.

 

Until another unexpected call from James a late Thursday night. “[Y/N], we got his location. He’s coming home.” You softly smiled. “That’s great, Rhodey. No offense, but why are you calling to tell me? Shouldn’t you call Stane?” You perched the phone between your ear and shoulder, moving a box of cables from your room to the living room.

 

“He wants to see you when he lands, like immediately.”

 

“What?! Why?” You dropped the box on the couch, baffled. You weren’t getting dragged into this.

 

You heard a shout over the phone. “I need your help!” There was some rustling on the line. “I don’t ask for that a lot, you know.” His voice was clearer now. You sighed. “Help with what?” You groaned, pinching the bridge of your nose.

 

“Shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of my company. I need someone to call a press conference.”

 

“Don’t you have a secretary for that?”  
  
“She quit. You can replace her.” You wholeheartedly laughed at that. “Tony, I’m glad you’re okay. But I am _not_ -“ He cut you off.

 

“You know what? We won’t put a label on it. But you have to help me. Something bad is going down, I just gotta figure out what.”

 

You were getting dragged into this.

 

He sounded a bit hesitant. “You in?”

 

“Sure.”

 

You had a death wish, honestly.


	5. Question

Hello! Would anyone like me to continue this? I have a draft of the next chapter laying around on my laptop but never got around to posting it. If anyone’s interested, i’ll continue the story. Otherwise, I’m going to start new stuff.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the newest chapter! I only ran it through Grammarly after writing, so let me know if there are any mistakes.

Lucky for you, calling a press conference was pretty easy. You got your PR manager to set up with a few of the local and big news broadcasters, and the whole thing was together in an hour. Now you just had to meet Stark. Happy was happy to drive you, pun intended. You’d meet Tony at the air base, he’d make a stop to the hospital, and he could have his press conference. Whatever it was going to be about, you weren’t sure what to expect. 

The jet landed about 12:30, and when the deck opened underneath you caught a glimpse of Tony standing from a wheelchair. Rhodey helped him walk down to meet you, with his signature smirk playing proudly on his lips. He looked pretty banged up, with his arm in a sling, and he was limping. He was an ass, but you couldn’t help but feel pain for him. You weren’t gonna ask him about what happened over there. Not unless he wanted to tell you. 

“Oh, hi. Fancy meeting you here. Your eyes are a little red, some tears for your long-lost potential business partner?” You were glad the wit made it back from Afghanistan, too. “Tears of joy, I didn’t want to take over your business.” He laughed. 

“Where to, boss?” Happy chimed in.

“Take us to the hospital, please, Happy.” You responded, knowing Tony would try to negotiate his way out of it. “No.” You and Rhodey simultaneously rolled eyes. You took over his position and helped Stark into the car while Rhodey ran over to give details to his supervisor. “No is the complete answer.” He said again, shaking his head. “What do you mean, no? The doctor has to check you over—“ “I have been in captivity for three months,” He announced, which shut you up for a moment. “There are two things I want right now. An American cheeseburger, and my press conference. Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first.” 

After your adventure to Burger King, you arrived at the press conference. Hoards of reporters were outside waiting, and when the car pulled around they all cheered. Stane waited patiently for the car and opened Tony’s door when happy parked it. They shared a hug, and you made your way around the car with Tony’s other cheeseburger in your hands. Obadiah death glared at you for a moment but continued his act. “Of course you had to have a burger,” he joked, while Tony fished his hand inside the bag to get his food. “Is there one in there for me?” He asked as they continued walking. Tony didn’t seem very interested. “There's only one left. I need it.” You quietly followed them in and stayed behind the reporters that lined up before the small stage. You let out a small sigh of relief you didn’t realize you’d be holding. You’re glad he’s okay. You watched as he began the conference. 

“Agent (Y/L/N)?” A familiar voice called. You sighed. “Coulson.” You recognized, smiling and giving him a nod. You weren’t technically an agent, but whenever you were around SHIELD members they referred to you as such. You hated it. “We need to debrief Stark on the circumstances of his escape.”   
“Yeah. After he talks to the DOD, the FBI, the CIA…”   
“You know what I mean.”   
You nodded. “I’ll get something in his books, set up a meeting between him and Fury.” “Thank you, Agent (Y/L/N).” You rolled your eyes and smiled. 

The conference began with Stane up at the podium and Tony sitting in front of it. He asked all the reporters to sit, who all obliged but looked thoroughly confused. Chatter erupted amongst them until Tony began to speak.

“What’s up with the love-in?” Rhodey came from behind you.  
“Don’t look at me, I have no idea what he’s up to.”

“I never got to say goodbye to my father.” The reporters were silent, and camera clicked in the background, their flashes lighting up Tony’s face every few moments. “There are questions that I would’ve asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what his company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts.” He took a moment to wipe his face, and you found yourself holding your breath again. He seemed so casual up there, but you had a feeling whatever this conference was about would be the exact opposite. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels.”A few laughs. “I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them… And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability.” Obadiah looked a bit shocked now. You knew it, it was him. One of the reporters brought your attention back. 

“What happened over there?” He asked quietly.

Tony stood, making his way to the podium. “I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International—“ Everyone stood up at once, a flurry of questions buzzing around the room. Obadiah stood to take the mic from Tony. “—until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be.” Stane interrupted him. “What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up.” He smiled, almost maliciously.

Tony made his way back towards you, eyeing you as reporters followed him to ask questions. “I’ll catch up with you later. Meet me back at my place, got a job for you.” You didn’t respond, only looked at Rhodey, who shrugged. 

You found yourself at Tony’s Malibu mansion about two hours later. JARVIS the AI system, which you had to admit was pretty amazing, saw you in. It was an absolutely gorgeous day; the sun shining, the waves from the expansive windows in the living room looked peaceful, and a CBS Business expert was screaming about the eventual demise of Stark Industries rather loudly on TV. You noticed at the bottom of the screen, the stock had dropped about 85 points. “Miss (Y/L/N), Mr. Stark requests you in his workshop. You can find your way there following the north stairwell.” You found your way down there pretty easily, and as Tony heard your footsteps he shouted for you. “How big are your hands?” He asked you, eyes narrowing as you got close. “Let me see ‘em.” You stuck out your right hand nervously for him to observe. He was laying back in a black chair, a heartbeat monitor beeping rhythmically behind him. Dum-E was above him holding a suction device for surgery. Oh, and there was a huge, gaping hole in his chest. “Perfect, I need your help for a quick sec.” You looked at his chest, still a bit shocked. “Is this the thing keeping you alive?” You inquired, slowly letting your pointer finger reach out and trace the sides of where the metal met flesh. “It was, it is now an antique. This,” He referred to a small glowing device in his hand. “is what will be keeping me alive in the foreseeable future.” He replied calmly. “It’s an arc reactor? Did you miniaturize it? Tony that’s amazing—“ “Yeah, it is. I’m switching this one out for an upgraded unit, and I’ve run into a small snag. There’s an exposed wire underneath and it's contacting the socket wall. That's where you come in.” Your face obviously looked confused, because he continued. “Put this on the table over there.” He handed you the old reactor. He pulled it out of his chest. Out of his chest. “Oh, my god.” “That is irrelevant. I want you to reach in, and gently lift the wire out.” The heart rate monitor in the background slowly became more erratic, which made you more nervous. “Is-Is this safe?” He looked short of breath. “Should be. It’s like a game of Operation, don’t let it touch the socket wall.” You looked at him wildly before taking a breath and reaching your hand over the metal in his chest. “You know, I don’t think I’m qualified to do this.” He looked up at you, probably a bit annoyed. “No, you're fine. You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You’re gonna do great. Is it too much of a problem to ask? 'Cause I’m—“ You put your hand up to silence him, even though he was being so nice. “Okay, okay.” 

“Okay. Gently lift the wire.” He spoke slowly, gazing down at his chest.

“Oh! Oh, there's puss.” You closed your eyes for a second, reaching around in the goo to find the small wire. It was a terrible noise, too. 

“It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body.”

“It smells.”

“Yeah, it does. The copper wire, (Y/N).” 

You tried to slow your breathing, and you caught hold of the thin wire. “Okay, got it.” Tony sighed gently and further instructed you. “Don’t let it— GAH.” You panicked as the wire bumped the socket wall on accident “Socket wall — sorrysorrysorry.” You breathed, threading the wire through your fingers as you gently pulled it out. “Yeah, okay. Pull the magnet out at the end, but I’m going to go into cardiac arrest when you do, so you need to change them out quickly.” “WHAT? Oh my god, okay. Ooookay.” You clenched your jaw as you pulled out the wire. “God, you yanked it out like a trout— put this in okay? Attach it to the base plate.” You did this easily, and a sudden jolt went through Tony. “Was that so hard? That was fun, right?” No, it wasn't. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I feel great.” He laughed as the heart monitor slowed down. “Are you okay? You did fantastically.” You let out a relieved laugh. “Please don’t make me do that again, Stark.” He smiled thoughtfully, something you hadn’t seen from him very often. “No promises. You’re the only one I got.” What did that mean? You both stared softly at each other for a moment, and he shrugged. You definitely just had a moment with the man you thought you hated less than 6 months ago. You walked carefully over to the workplace sink, ridding yourself of what Tony refused to call puss on your hands. You smiled gently, coming back over to a shirtless Tony sitting at his desk, Dum-E hovering over him like a lost puppy. You hoisted yourself up to the table, placing your butt at the end of it and reaching over to grab the older arc reactor. You fiddled with it in your hands for a moment. “What are you gonna do with this?” You asked nonchalantly, glancing up towards the genius. “Get rid of it, incinerate it. I don’t care.” He said dismissively, removing things from his desk with the help of the robot. You cocked your head to the side in confusion. “You don’t wanna keep it?” Tony was suddenly very close to you, practically standing in between your legs dangling off the table. “I’ve been called many things, but nostalgic is not one of them.” He admitted, looking up to meet your gaze. You weren’t gonna let him do that. Maybe you’d get it framed somehow, and give it to him as a gift. That sounded like a good idea. While you rolled over the cool metal in your hands, you allowed your gaze to keep with Tony’s, your breath mingling in the close vicinity. You stayed in comfortable silence for a few moments, just lingering. You’d be lying If you said you weren’t attracted to Tony, especially after his big announcement. It made you respect him more, which is something you didn’t just a short time ago. Your train of thought about potentially kissing him came to halt, though, as the press conference popped up in your mind again. 

“So,” you began, breaking the silence and waggling your eyebrows. “That was… a pretty ballsy thing to do earlier. Your announcement.” He frowned. “Yeah. I need to talk to you about that, actually. You know something, don’t you? That's why you were so unwelcoming to the idea of doing business together.” He took a seat at his desk again, leaning back into the office chair. “No, I was hesitant to do business because I wasn’t in the business of killing people. I own a tactical communications company. We help the military better understand each other and the human beings on the other side. I was never in it to kill anyone… But, yeah. I thought I was onto something. And I haven’t been completely honest with you.” You sighed rubbing the back of your neck. Tony waited for you to elaborate. You told him everything. Your meetings with SHIELD, Obadiah, everything.” He sat in silence.


End file.
